UMass @ Richmond

[93henfan]

14-3 Richmond on a fumble recovery.

Typical Richmond. They're like a cat toying with a mouse. The mouse thinks it can hang and POP, the mouse gets an attitude adjustment.

[AZGrizFan]

Which implies you either beat Navy or Villanover.

And also implies we don't stumble to the Mickey mice or a bipolar Hofstra squad rolling off a bye week.

Well, if you lose to Mickey mice you got no business in the playoffs.

[93henfan]

17-3 Spotters - 5 mins left 2nd Q

[93henfan]

20-3 Spotters at the half

Could have been worse but the Minutemen stuffed them on 1st-3rd and goal

[93henfan]

Weird. Richmond drives right down to the red zone on their opening second half possession and then decides to go for it on 4th and 8 from the UMass 17 instead of kick a FG? The weather must have really turned bad down there. Anyway, UMass stuffs them and takes over.

20-3 Spotters

[93henfan]

And a Havens INT on the next UMass play.

Richmond ball in the danger zone again.

[93henfan]

Then Richmond throws four incomplete passes, again not going for the FG. There must be a monsoon over Richmond, VA right now.

[93henfan]

UMass intercepts a Ward pass in the endzone for a touchback.

Still 20-3 Richmond with 4 mins left 3rd Q.

[Rob Iola]

Man - poor Hogan - nasty weather and a lousy result - did he get any takers for his extra ticket?

[ur76spider]

I think it is a WONDERFUL RESULT RICHMOND 34 UMASS 12 ! Richmond has now won something like 15 or 16 straight! This is a far cry from 1979 and 1982 when they went 0-11 and if it was not for a huge millions of dollars gifts by the wonderful Robins family, the football program was on the verge of being dropped!! I just wish that my dad , who played for the Spiders, class of 1949 and UR Law 1952, could have lived to see them capture the National Championship and go on this wonderful winning streak!

[Col Hogan]

Man - poor Hogan - nasty weather and a lousy result - did he get any takers for his extra ticket?

I found a players family that needed one extra...so the good guy that I am, I gave it to them...


Some thoughts as I dry out - we did get some monsoon-like bursts...

Richmond is a very good team...on offense, Ward (QB) and Forte (RB) can beat you easy.... As long as Ward has the ball in his hand, he's dangerous...not a great passer, but plays under control and can run the ball real well...Forte has a lightening quick cutting ability...

Our defense played them well...our offense kept giving the SPiders a very short field (6 INTs, I think...two fumbles...two bad long saps on punts... )

With Richmond the defending National Champs, and ranked #1, I was shocked by the turn-out....yea, the weather sucked...but by the third quarter, there were as many UMass fans still there as Richmond fans...I don't understand why they don't turn out for this good a team...

IMHO, Richmond deserves #1...UMass is on the bubble...(4 wins, all at home...3 losses, all on the road...)

That's it...now, I'm going to take a hot shower...

[ur76spider]

You guys from state universities need to realize that the University of Richmond is a very small private university with an undergraduate enrollment of only 2800 students. By far it is the smallest school in the CAA and probably one of the smallest in all of FCS. This is a reason it is so amazing that such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year won the National title last year When one of our players gets hurt we cannot run in a string of walk-ons like you state school are able to do. It is just the way it is. This being said, I think the on campus stadium will add additional excitement to UR football!
Also, it is a fact of life that most of the Richmond metropolitan area generally could care less about athletics at UR. Those that mostly attend UR sporting events are either alumni or those that are students. As for the alumni, unlike state schools that have yearly graduating classes in the thousands of grads, UR only averages graduationg classes between 600 -700 per year. Therefore the number of fans that attend UR sporting events will always remain small We may be small in numbers but we are very proud of our school

[Cleets Part 2]

You guys from state universities need to realize that the University of Richmond is a very small private university with an undergraduate enrollment of only 2800 students. By far it is the smallest school in the CAA and probably one of the smallest in all of FCS. This is a reason it is so amazing that such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year won the National title last year When one of our players gets hurt we cannot run in a string of walk-ons like you state school are able to do. It is just the way it is. This being said, I think the on campus stadium will add additional excitement to UR football!
Also, it is a fact of life that most of the Richmond metropolitan area generally could care less about athletics at UR. Those that mostly attend UR sporting events are either alumni or those that are students. As for the alumni, unlike state schools that have yearly graduating classes in the thousands of grads, UR only averages graduationg classes between 600 -700 per year. Therefore the number of fans that attend UR sporting events will always remain small We may be small in numbers but we are very proud of our school

Richmond gets the same number of scholarships that Umass gets..? (No..?)
Richmond fields the same number of players on the roster as Umass..? (No..?)

Stanford University in the PAC 10 has 6,500 students - Ranked in the top 20 in NCAA football 6 times in the passed 15 years - to put that in perspective Texas has 53,000 students..

Richmond is a fine school and has a solid football program - Richmond is a school about the same size as Harvard - who also finished ranked number one and was undefeated in 2004...

You make a largely irrelevant point - but I'm a douche bag so pay no attention to me..

[Willie]

You guys from state universities need to realize that the University of Richmond is a very small private university with an undergraduate enrollment of only 2800 students. By far it is the smallest school in the CAA and probably one of the smallest in all of FCS. This is a reason it is so amazing that such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year won the National title last year When one of our players gets hurt we cannot run in a string of walk-ons like you state school are able to do. It is just the way it is. This being said, I think the on campus stadium will add additional excitement to UR football!
Also, it is a fact of life that most of the Richmond metropolitan area generally could care less about athletics at UR. Those that mostly attend UR sporting events are either alumni or those that are students. As for the alumni, unlike state schools that have yearly graduating classes in the thousands of grads, UR only averages graduationg classes between 600 -700 per year. Therefore the number of fans that attend UR sporting events will always remain small We may be small in numbers but we are very proud of our school

I didn't read a single word of this. Goddamn that's a lot of smileys.

[93henfan]

You guys from state universities need to realize that the University of Richmond is a very small private university with an undergraduate enrollment of only 2800 students. By far it is the smallest school in the CAA and probably one of the smallest in all of FCS. This is a reason it is so amazing that such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year won the National title last year When one of our players gets hurt we cannot run in a string of walk-ons like you state school are able to do. It is just the way it is. This being said, I think the on campus stadium will add additional excitement to UR football!
Also, it is a fact of life that most of the Richmond metropolitan area generally could care less about athletics at UR. Those that mostly attend UR sporting events are either alumni or those that are students. As for the alumni, unlike state schools that have yearly graduating classes in the thousands of grads, UR only averages graduationg classes between 600 -700 per year. Therefore the number of fans that attend UR sporting events will always remain small We may be small in numbers but we are very proud of our school

Richmond gets the same number of scholarships that Umass gets..? (No..?)
Richmond fields the same number of players on the roster as Umass..? (No..?)

Stanford University in the PAC 10 has 6,500 students - Ranked in the top 20 in NCAA football 6 times in the passed 15 years - to put that in perspective Texas has 53,000 students..

Richmond is a fine school and has a solid football program - a school about the same size as Harvard who finished ranked number one and was undefeated in 2004...

You make a largely irrelevant point - but I'm a douche bag so pay no attention to me..

I think your post has merit Cleets, but it didn't have nearly the force of a post with thirteen emoticons. That's like one emoticon for every $1K you pay to attend UMass or every $4K to attend Richmond.

[Rob Iola]

...
such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year
...

Um, really? 50K a year? Not meaning to dis Richmond, but is it really worth it?

[Cleets Part 2]

...
such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year
...

Um, really? 50K a year? Not meaning to dis Richmond, but is it really worth it?

On the Richmond website it says it less than half that much...

[Grizalltheway]

Um, really? 50K a year? Not meaning to dis Richmond, but is it really worth it?

On the Richmond website it says it less than half that much...

But the new Lexus Daddy has to buy you before you can enroll will run you 40k plus...

[Col Hogan]

You guys from state universities need to realize that the University of Richmond is a very small private university with an undergraduate enrollment of only 2800 students. By far it is the smallest school in the CAA and probably one of the smallest in all of FCS. This is a reason it is so amazing that such a tiny school with tuition of over 50K per year won the National title last year When one of our players gets hurt we cannot run in a string of walk-ons like you state school are able to do. It is just the way it is. This being said, I think the on campus stadium will add additional excitement to UR football!
Also, it is a fact of life that most of the Richmond metropolitan area generally could care less about athletics at UR. Those that mostly attend UR sporting events are either alumni or those that are students. As for the alumni, unlike state schools that have yearly graduating classes in the thousands of grads, UR only averages graduationg classes between 600 -700 per year. Therefore the number of fans that attend UR sporting events will always remain small We may be small in numbers but we are very proud of our school

So then explain why schools like Duke and Wake Forest...small (6500 or so) private schools can pack a stadium more than 4x the size of the place you play in....even when they suck...

Imagine if they won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.....

I was out in the tailgate area Saturday...saw the preppy's who headed for high ground away from the stadium when game time arrived...they loved the party, but did not care to sit in the stadium (no enclosed luxury boxes, I guess)...

If you are really honest with yourself ur76...Richmond students (and alums) for a large part like the title National Champions but don't give a rats ass about being at a game...

You have a fantastic team...one of the classiest head coaches in all of football (let's see how long before he's snatched away)...and a fan base that is, well, less than National Championship caliber....

[Bostonspider]

First of all UR's stadium seats 22K, and Duke and Wake, each more than twice the size of UR have about 33K seat stadiums, so not quite 4x's to say the least, and Duke at least does not "pack" the stadium as of late. In a "monsoon", there were officially over 8200 for a game versus a New England team most locals could not care about, in a decrepit stadium miles away from campus. And if you do not think UR's higher standards and high tuition do not make it harder for recruited walk ons, you are crazy. It also minimizes the pool of recruits Coach London can go after, like Duke and Wake, in that the recruits still have to have an academic record which is loads above the NCAA minimums. I think there is a reason you have not seen Baylor, Stamford, Duke or Vanderbilt challenge for a national title, even though many of their conference mates have. For UR to have done it out level is very impressive.

[Col Hogan]

First of all UR's stadium seats 22K, and Duke and Wake, each more than twice the size of UR have about 33K seat stadiums, so not quite 4x's to say the least, and Duke at least does not "pack" the stadium as of late. In a "monsoon", there were officially over 8200 for a game versus a New England team most locals could not care about, in a decrepit stadium miles away from campus. And if you do not think UR's higher standards and high tuition do not make it harder for recruited walk ons, you are crazy. It also minimizes the pool of recruits Coach London can go after, like Duke and Wake, in that the recruits still have to have an academic record which is loads above the NCAA minimums. I think there is a reason you have not seen Baylor, Stamford, Duke or Vanderbilt challenge for a national title, even though many of their conference mates have. For UR to have done it out level is very impressive.

Does that 8200 count the five bus loads of high schoolers and their parents (Lake Braddock HS band) who came to play at half time, then leave???

And why, when the critical discussion is about the fans, do you bring up the academic standards and the impact they have on the football team? Coach London seems to have found the way to make it work...very much CONGRATS to him (see my post above where I call him one of the classiest coaches in footbal)

But that has NOTHING to do with the students turning out (and staying) and alums and fans...which you have very few of, IMHO...

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

That was my take on the fans that I met at the game in Chatanoogs lst year. It seemed that about 10-20% of the fans were normal good fans that were there to have a good time. Some were nice people but just a bunch of pretentious fucks that were there with no real idea of why they were there.

The most glaring difference was the pre game Thusday night parties.

Richmond's party-A black tie/tuxedo & gown affair at a nice spot with a sort of Academy Awards feel to it. I AM NOT SHITTING YOU. They did that.

We could not stop shaking out heads as we walked a block down the street to the Montana party that looked like an Irish pub at 5pm with revelers swigging beer and singing the fight song overflowing out the door and on to the surrounding sidewalks.

I can't tell ya how much respect I have for the Richmond team and coaching staff to have to go out and perform for the majority of that fan base. I'm actually glad that their fan base is as small as it is because they don't need more of those no fun fucks running around.

[Cleets Part 2]

First of all UR's stadium seats 22K, and Duke and Wake, each more than twice the size of UR have about 33K seat stadiums, so not quite 4x's to say the least, and Duke at least does not "pack" the stadium as of late. In a "monsoon", there were officially over 8200 for a game versus a New England team most locals could not care about, in a decrepit stadium miles away from campus. And if you do not think UR's higher standards and high tuition do not make it harder for recruited walk ons, you are crazy. It also minimizes the pool of recruits Coach London can go after, like Duke and Wake, in that the recruits still have to have an academic record which is loads above the NCAA minimums. I think there is a reason you have not seen Baylor, Stamford, Duke or Vanderbilt challenge for a national title, even though many of their conference mates have. For UR to have done it out level is very impressive.

What London and Richmond has accomplished is NO MORE impressive than what Harvard or Stanford have to do every single year as well....

if Richmond is competitive like those programs - for a decade then we'll talk - so far so good... but lets not get too excited

[ur76spider]

What wonderful posts! I enjoyed reading them!

I am not going to repeat everything that I have said on the subject of low turnout at Richmond football games. I would just like you to remember that UR is a small school and therefore the chance of large crowds are very small.
As for those so called fans that tailgate outside of the stadium, then leave, they are only hurting themselves and they are casting a bad light on the school (UR) in the eyes of the fans of other schools.

In closing, most of them probably are not aware, or do not care, of how close UR came to dropping the sport after the 1979 and 1982 seasons.....when both years they went 0-11!

I hope that with the opening of the on campus stadium next fall (2010) the number of true fans will increase as evidence by their presence in the stadium thoughout the games. Time will tell

[Col Hogan]

What wonderful posts! I enjoyed reading them!

I am not going to repeat everything that I have said on the subject of low turnout at Richmond football games. I would just like you to remember that UR is a small school and therefore the chance of large crowds are very small.
As for those so called fans that tailgate outside of the stadium, then leave, they are only hurting themselves and they are casting a bad light on the school (UR) in the eyes of the fans of other schools.

In closing, most of them probably are not aware, or do not care, of how close UR came to dropping the sport after the 1979 and 1982 seasons.....when both years they went 0-11!

I hope that with the opening of the on campus stadium next fall (2010) the number of true fans will increase as evidence by their presence in the stadium thoughout the games. Time will tell

Even though UMass won't be playing the Spiders next season, I'm going to try and get to a game at the new stadium since I live only 85 miles away...

We'll see if that makes a difference...